Hello Children, today I will tell you the story of Bodhi. Bodhi lives in Bhose village of Yavatmal. There is a Nilona forest near Bhose village. When Bodhi was young, he saw many wildfires in this forest. During the wildfires, big trees in the forest would be destroyed. Animals in the forest would come to the village in search of food. They would attack the villagers and their livestock. The villagers would cut down big trees in the forest. Seeing this, little Bodhi used to get upset and keep talking to his mother about it.
Bodhi’s mother used to discuss with him about the protection and conservation of trees, nature, and the environment. Bodhi began to think. He tried to find ways to regrow the trees and forests destroyed in the wildfires in Yavatmal. In 2013, Bodhi presented the project “Seed Ball” at his school’s science fair. He demonstrated how seed balls can be used for large-scale tree planting. Many people liked his idea.
Bodhi was not content to stop there. He continued to experiment and invented more ways for planting trees on a large scale. These methods include Green Pouch and Magic Socks. In the Green Pouch method, create a small pouch using cotton clothes and newspaper pieces. Add tree seeds, a small rope, compost or cow dung, and soil to it. This pouch is then used to plant trees. In the Magic Socks method, tree seeds, compost or cow dung, and soil are mixed and placed in a sock. The sock is then thrown at the place where the trees are to be planted. These trees take root during the monsoon. Bodhi informed the people about this method from many public forums and in schools and demonstrated it. In schools, Bodhi used to give a pledge to the children. They pledged to save forests and water along with the national pledge. Soon, thousands of helping hands stood behind him.
Bodhi and his little friends, inspired by him, significantly increased the green cover in the surrounding areas of Yavatmal. Many organizations recognized Bodhi’s work. He received numerous awards and honors. Some of these include –
* Young Eco Hero Award
* Vikram Sarabhai Foundation’s Kalam Smriti Idea National Award
* India Book of Records Youngest Messenger of Social Forestation
* Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Ignited Mind Children Creativity and Innovation National Award 2020
Also, renowned organizations like UNICEF, The UN, The United Nations Report 7 have praised his work.
Now you understand why Bodhi’s work is so inspiring. You should also understand how he found answers to environmental issues. The next part of the article is a bit difficult. You can understand it with the help of your parents and teachers.
When little Bodhi saw the problems of declining forests, wildfires, and attacks by wild animals on farmers and villagers, he decided to find answers. This is called a solution-oriented mindset. Once you understand the problem, you should focus your thoughts from questions to finding answers to those questions. There are many things to keep in mind while getting such answers, including:
1) Guidance – When little Bodhi first came up with the idea of seedball, he took the guidance of his mother, teacher, and agricultural experts. He did many experiments himself and continuously improved his tree planting methods. The step of ‘continuous improvement’ is very important in this. Are there any errors in the answer we are considering? Who are the experts in it? What things should be taken into consideration? One should think about this and continuously improve it.
2) Work done around the world – For this, you will have to take the help of your e-friend Google. Has any work been done around the world on these types of problems? What methods did they use? You should see how they got the results. Google can provide a huge wealth of information in this regard. Based on this information, you can decide which method to develop or which method to experiment with.
3) Suitability – You should check whether the option you have chosen is suitable for the climate, transportation, and manpower of your region. Bodhi has developed five methods of afforestation. All these methods are very cost-effective and are environmentally friendly. Remember, the means are as important as the goal. A solution to an environmental problem is meaningless if it harms the environment in any way. In that regard, the suitability of your answer should be checked.
4) Production Cost – This point is very important in developing countries like India. Since Bodhi’s tree cultivation methods are made from waste materials, their production cost is very low. The money required for big expenditure measures may not always be available. However, when a good work is started, thousands of helping hands come forward. By taking care of all the above things, Bodhi’s methods became universally accepted and proved to be very useful.
Little Bodhi is college going student now. If you search Google for the name Bodhisattva Khanderao, you will find many videos and information about him. Taking inspiration from children like Bodhisattva, you too can serve for your country, society, and nature.
Think about the question..
Find the probable solution..
Experiment and seek guidance..
Improve consistently..
Check the production costs and utility..
Be inspiring..
This is what will bring changes in the world.